Fantasy Football Week 3 IDP Streamers: Players from the Patriots, Packers, and More

IDP fantasy players are so random. Just look at last year's list of Defensive Player of the Week winners: Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt show up, but so do names like Yetur Gross-Matos and Taron Johnson. We never know who is going to have a big week defensively, especially when statistics happen so much less frequently than with offensive players.

Let's try our best to identify IDP studs, though, and look at players from two teams at every level of the defense who have good matchups in Week 3. We will be focusing on the players who are free agents in most fantasy leagues who can be picked up and inserted into your lineup.

Check out FantasySP's defensive rankings to identify the teams with the best and worst matchups each week.

Defensive Linemen

Indianapolis Colts @ Tennessee Titans

This all starts with the matchup. Tennessee quarterback Cameron Ward has been sacked 11 times, more than any other player through two weeks. The offensive line hasn't helped, ranking 30th in pass block win rate, and the rookie has felt the effects. There's not a better QB to target for sacks right now.

The Colts have just three sacks, ranking among the bottom 10 in the league. All three came against Tua Tagovailoa in Week 1, with Bo Nix not going down at all on Sunday. Nix only was sacked once in Week 1, and Denver's offensive line ranks first in pass block win rate after leading the league last year, so I'll give Indy a pass on not getting to Nix.

With a much better chance to get home in this game, it comes down to choosing the right players. Everyone in Indy's pass-rushing rotation is available in almost every fantasy league, leaving plenty of options:

• Kwity Paye is the best bet to pick up a sack. The 2021 first-round pick had at least eight sacks in each of the past two seasons.
• Laiatu Latu was a first-round pick last year, and while he had just four sacks as a rookie, he is sure to get plenty of opportunities when healthy. Latu missed Week 2 and is uncertain for Week 3, so check his status before starting him.
• Samson Ebukam saw the biggest boost from Latu being out, playing 78% of the snaps in Week 2 after just 38% in Week 1. He had a career-high 9.5 sacks last season and picked up another in Week 1, so Ebukam has some appeal if Latu is out.

Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner is probably owned in your league, but if not, he's a nice pickup on the interior defensive line. Grover Stewart starts next to him, but Stewart has only topped one sack three times in eight seasons; he's not a great fantasy option.

Paye, Latu, and Ebukam are all reasonable pickups if you're looking for a defensive end, as they all will get opportunities against the most sackable quarterback of the first two weeks.

New England Patriots vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Aaron Rodgers has been sacked seven times, tied for fourth most among all QBs. They were split fairly evenly, with the Jets taking him down four times in Week 1 and the Seahawks getting him three times in Week 2. Pittsburgh's offensive line ranks second worst in pass block win rate.

So, what we have here is an old quarterback who can't move as well as he used to in front of one of the worst offensive lines of the first two weeks. That's a recipe for sacks piling up, and it's why Rodgers has been vulnerable so far. New England is the team that gets to take advantage in Week 3.

The Patriots sacked Geno Smith four times in Week 1 then upped the ante and took down Tagovailoa five times in Week 2. New England brought in a lot of new defensive talent during the offseason, along with head coach Mike Vrabel, and it has paid off so far with a much more effective front (they are ninth in pass rush win rate and first in run stop win rate).

The guys rushing the passer from the edges most have been Harold Landry III and K'Lavon Chaisson. Landry was a former star who looked like his best days were behind him, but he had 2.5 sacks in Week 1 then picked up another one in Week 2. Chaisson was a first-round pick in 2020 but has mostly disappointed. He had a career-high five sacks last season and has 1.5 so far in 2025.

Milton Williams is the big name on the interior, a free agent pickup who had his own career high with five sacks last year. Williams' sack numbers have been inconsistent, but he already has two this season. Williams is owned in more leagues than the others, but he's a good DT pickup if he is available.

Landry is a good streamer, and if he's not available, then Chaisson is a fine Plan B if you're in need of a defensive end. Williams might be a keeper at defensive tackle if you can get him; Christian Barmore is the other name if you're digging deep at DT.

Linebackers

When looking for IDP linebackers, I'm looking for teams that run the most offensive plays. Linebackers get most of their stats from tackles; the more plays run, the more tackle opportunities, as well as interception, fumble, and sack chances.

Green Bay Packers @ Cleveland Browns

Cleveland has run the second-most plays behind only Buffalo. They have also been in the top six every year since 2022. This is a team that under head coach Kevin Stefanski has run a ton of offensive plays on a regular basis.

That makes the Browns a great target team for IDP linebackers. Green Bay gets the honors this week, and the Packers have looked like one of the best defenses in football over the first few games, holding down both the Lions and Commanders.

The two guys here are Quay Walker and Edgerrin Cooper. Cooper is more likely to be owned, but if he's free, he's another guy who might qualify as a keeper and weekly starter. Walker has more availability, and he has played 100% of the snaps and ranks second on the team in tackles. Both Walker and Cooper are good pickups this week if available.

Carolina Panthers vs. Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta has run the eighth-most plays this year (just three per game away from third place), and they ranked sixth last year. A lot of work also goes to the running backs in Atlanta, a position that often matches up with linebackers in both the running and passing games. The Falcons offer plenty of chances for opposing linebackers.

Every middle linebacker snap for Carolina has gone to either Christian Rozeboom or Trevin Wallace. Rozeboom has played every defensive snap, and Wallace is sitting around 80%. They are second and third, respectively, in tackles for the Panthers, behind safety Tre'von Moehrig.

Carolina has a bad defense. Generally in fantasy football, we want to try to limit the amount that we rely on players who are on bad teams. In this case, though, because we are looking only for volume, it doesn't matter that Rozeboom and Wallace might not be even average players. We just need chances for them to rack up stats, and they have that against an Atlanta team that just ran the ball 38 times on Sunday night.

Defensive Backs

Houston Texans @ Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville and their quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, haven't looked great to start the season. Lawrence is completing less than 60% of his passes at just 6.2 yards per attempt with four touchdowns and three interceptions. One of his games was against the hapless Panthers.

Houston is a tough defense who has been successful against the pass. This looks like a matchup in favor of the defense, meaning Lawrence is vulnerable. His offensive line has been very good, and Lawrence has only been sacked once, but he's not putting up great numbers and has thrown it away three times.

Kamari Lassiter and Derek Stingley Jr. have been handling almost every outside cornerback snap for the Texans. Stingley is a popular name who could be owned in your league, but he still has plenty of availability. Lassiter is available for anyone to pick up in almost every league.

The safeties getting on the field most are Calen Bullock, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Jalen Pitre, the latter putting in time at cornerback when they need a slot player. Lassiter, Pitre, Gardner-Johnson, and Stingley rank third through sixth on the team in tackles.

Any of these players would be a good pickup for Week 3, with Pitre the one getting the fewest snaps who could maybe be left out. The other four are all good streamers, and Stingley could be a keeper.

Minnesota Vikings vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Jake Browning came into the game midway through the second quarter in Week 2 for the injured Joe Burrow. In just two and a half quarters, he threw three interceptions. Browning will be starting for about the next three months. We might have a nice, reliable target QB if those numbers keep up.

Browning's only previous pass attempts were in 2023, when he was also filling in for an injured Burrow. That season, Browning threw seven interceptions in 243 attempts, one pick every 34.7 passes. He threw only 32 passes while being picked off three times in Week 2. That number will probably regress further back toward his previous work, but it's always enticing to go after backup quarterbacks.

Cincinnati is only 27th in pass block win rate through two weeks, an area in which they have struggled before. On top of being thrust into the starting role, if Browning is constantly on the run for his life, he won't be very effective and might keep serving up turnover opportunities.

Byron Murphy Jr. and Isaiah Rodgers are the two cornerbacks who have been getting the most work specifically at that position. Murphy is owned in a few more leagues and might not be available, but Rodgers is essentially unowned in fantasy.

Safety Joshua Metellus has been the main man on the back end, particularly with Harrison Smith missing with injury. Theo Jackson has also been on the field for essentially every snap, splitting time between safety and corner. Jackson is second on the team with 13 tackles (Murphy is third with 11).

All four of those players are reasonable IDP streamers in Week 3. We don't know what the Bengals will look like without Burrow, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see Browning throwing the ball up to his star receivers. That offers chances at interceptions and deflected passes for the Minnesota defensive backs.